Machine for wiping and polishing articles of manufacture



Jan. 21, 1958 R. B. WAY ETAL 2,820,231

MACHINE FOR WIPING AND POLISHING ARTICLES OF MANUFACTURE Filed ov. 1a, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 fig W? 3nnentor Jan. 21, 1958 R. B. WAY- ETAL 2,820,231

MACHINE FOR WIPINGAND POLISHING ARTICLES OF MANUFACTURE Filed Nov. 16,1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Gttonfeg Ja n. 21,1958 R. B.- WAY EIAL MACHINE FOR WIPING AND POLISHING ARTICLES OF MANUFACTURE 4 SheetsSheet 5 Filed Nov. 16, 1953 /85a F76. 3 7 i @041 p9, QM zf M'attomeg 1958 R. 5. W Y ETAL 2,820,231

MACHINE FOR WIPIN AND POLISHING ARTICLES OF MANUFACTURE Filed Nov. Is. 1953 v r I 4 Sheets- Sheet 4 H v G1. w

' f f ZSmaerItor Uni MACHINE FOR WIPING AND POLISHING ARTICLES OF MANUFACTURE This invention relates to painting machinery and more particularly to machinery for wiping the excess paint from articles of manufacture which are to have engraved letters and numerals thereon painted and to have the space around the letters and numerals free of paint. The machine may also be used for polishing articles of manufacture.

' Machines for painting which were previously used for th'e'aforesaid purpose and with which we are familiar applied paint to the entire surface of the part having engraved letters and the excess paint from around the engraved letters was then wiped off manually. This entailed an expensive time consuming procedure as well as being unpleasant for the operator.

In carrying out our invention, we provide a rotary power driven unit which carries the article to be wiped adjacent the rotary power unit. We provide a cloth which is'indexed to provide a fresh area of cloth for each article wiped. A top wiping mandrel supplies a relatively constant pressure against the article as it is being wiped. We also provide a means to spray paint solvent on the clothto facilitate wiping the excess paint from the article. The article to be wiped is put in the rotary power unit and is moved into engagement with the wiping cloth and the top mandrel engages the wiping cloth on the opposite side thereof from the article. The rotary power unit advances the article rotating it and, thereby, wipes the excess paint therefrom while the top mandrel applies a constant pressure to the cloth to hold the cloth in contact with the article. When the wiping of one article is completed, the rotary power unit retracts the article and indexes the cloth to provide a fresh piece of cloth to wipethe next article.

In carrying out the above, it is an object of our invention to improve upon the previous methods of wiping the excess paint from articles of manufacture and more particularly it is an object of our invention to provide an automatic paint wiping machine which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture, and simple to use.

Another object of our invention is to provide a paint wiping machine wherein the excess paint can be wiped from parts by placing the partsin the machine and actuating the machine to wipe the parts.

A further object of our invention is to provide a ma chine for wiping the excess paint from articles of manufacture wherein the paint is wiped from the article by a cloth or screen which is indexed forward to provide a different area to contact each subsequent article.

Still another object of our invention is to provide a machine for wiping the excess paint from articles of manufacture wherein a predetermined amountof paint solvent is sprayed onto the wiping cloth prior to its engaging the article to be wiped.

Another object ofthe invention isto provide an automatic machine for wiping the excess paint frpm articles of manufacture wherein a substantially const'arit pressure isapplied to the painted surface beingwipedl A further object of our invention is to provide an automatic machine for wiping the excess paint from articles of manufacture wherein the machine may be adjusted to operate automatically through several continuous wiping cycles on each part to be wiped.

Another object of our invention is to provide a machine for wiping paint from articles of manufacture wherein the part which carries the article is moved rapidly toward the cloth until it engages the cloth and then moves slowly during the rest of the wiping cylce with a substantially constant force on the article.

Still another object of our invention is to provide means for wiping the excess paint from articles of manufacture wherein the parts to be wiped are rotated and advanced axially during their engagement with the wiping cloth.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consists of the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the form, size, proportions, and minor details of construction without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a view of an automatic machine for wiping the excess paint from articles of manufacture according to our invention;

Fig. 2is a view of a rotary power unit for carrying the part to be wiped into contact with a Wiping cloth;

Fig. '3 is a wiring diagram showing the electrical connections used in our automatic paint wiping machine;

Fig. 4 is a view of an air actuated valve having a timing device associated therewith;

Fig. 5 is a view of an air actuated valve having an air cylinder associated and operated by said valve;

Fig. 6 is a view of an air actuated valve according to our invention; and

Fig. 7 is a schematic piping diagram of our novel paint wiping machine showing some of the parts of our machine in operative position.

Now with more specific reference to the drawings, in Fig. 1, we show an automatic paint machine 1 having a frame 2 for supporting the various elements of the machine. The frame 2'is made up of vertically extending end members 3 and 4-. The end member 3 has the flared base members 5 extending outwardly and attached to the floor engaging laterally extending member 6. In like manner, the vertical member 4 has the outwardly flared members 7 which are attached at the bottom end to the floor engaging member 8. The end members 3 and 4 are tied together by thebrace 9 which is welded to the end member 4 at 1,0 and to the end member 3 atll. The longitudinally extendingintermediate member 12 is welded to the end member iat l4 and to the end member Stat 15 and the intermediate member 13 is welded to the end member 4 at 16 and to theintermediate vertically extending member 17. The inwardly directed top member 18 is attached to the end member 4 at 19 and to the later ally extending top member 20a: 21. The inwardly extending top member 22 is attached to the end member 3 at 2 3 and to the member 20 at 2'4.

The frame 2 is provided for supporting the various elements of the machine which constitute invention and it could bemade in the above described way or it could be varied to conform to the requirements of any particular j The e ntia mate co men s th mac in ar the ta ypq n 25 the 9 9th t'cwel swipin q h 26, h t p in mane 7! and up ,a scq a eslje ee 3 tn'caland air driven equipment. The word cloth" as used herein is meant to include any sheet of material suitable for wiping or polishing, including cloth and fabric material having abrasive and other polishing materials thereon and mesh screens.

A schematic piping layout of the machine 1, including the rotary power unit, is shown in Fig. 7. A diagram of a rotary power unit is shown in detail in Fig. 2. The rotary power unit 25 has a frame 31 which is attached to the frame 2 of the machine 1. The frame 31 is attached to the four way air valve 32 which carries the piston 33. The piston 33 reciprocates in cylinder 34 and has the piston rod 35 attached thereto at 36a and the piston rod 35 is guided in the frame 31 at 36b. At the upper end of the piston rod 35, the transverse frame member 36 is attached at 37 by means of the nut 38a which threadably engages the piston rod 35 so that the lower shaft 38, the tie rods 39, and the lower frame being attached inwardly to the upper frame member 36 move as a unit. The tie rods 39 are attached to the frame members 36 and 40 by means of inner lock nuts 41 and outer lock nuts 42.

The upper frame member 36 of the power unit 25 has a thrust bearing 43 which carries the shaft 38 with it when the piston 33 applies a force through piston rod 35 and moves the frame 36 upward at the same time, allowing the shaft 38 to rotate in the bearing 43. The shaft 38 has a telescopic splined joint 45 which receives the lower splined shaft 46 therein. The lower shaft 46 has a pulley 47 attached thereto and is held against axial movement in the housing by the thrust bearing 48. Thrust bearing 48 is fixedly supported at 49 in the housing 50 which is integral with the frame 31. The shaft 46 driving shaft 38 is rotated through the pulley 47 by the belt 51 which operatively engages the pulley 52 on the shaft 53 of the air motor 54. The holding mandrel 55 is attached to the lower shaft 38 at 56 to rotate and move therewith and it has an upper portion or article receiving member 57 having the part receiving recess 58 which will be designed to receive the article to be wiped.

The trigger shaft 59 is fixedly and adjustably held in the upper frame member 36 by the lock nuts 60 and 61 which are threadably attached to the shaft 59. The nuts 68 and 61 can be adjusted on shaft 59 to move cam 62 up or down to adjust the longitudinal stroke of the piston 33. The cam surface 62 is integrally attached to the shaft 59 at the lower end thereof to actuate the release member 63.

The checking device 64 which is a part of the rotary power unit 25 is made up of the piston 65 which slides in the cylinder 66 and is supported on the frame member 6'7 which is integral with the frame 31. The oil reservoir 68 is attached at 69 to the frame 67 and the needle valve 70 may be adjusted to regulate the flow of oil from the cylinder 66 72 into the oil reservoir 68. On the upward stroke of the piston 65, the shaft 38 moves upward carrying the power unit frame with it and bringing the frame member 40 into engagement with the nut 108 which is attached to the shaft 77. As the shaft 38 moves upward, the threaded portion of the shaft 77 slides through the hole 79. This moves the piston 65 upward to expel oil from the cylinder 66 through the passage 71 through the pipe 72 to the reservoir 68. On the downward stroke of the shaft 38 when it is pulled down by the piston 33, the frame member 40 will engage the nut 80 and pull the piston 65 downward, thereby drawing oil through the pipe 72 through the passage 75 past the ball check valve 74 back into the cylinder 66. It will be apparent that oil cannot flow from the cylinder 66 past the check valve 74 on the upward stroke of the piston 65. Nuts and 81 can be locked in any position to pull the piston 65 down ward to the desired position. When the frame member 40 is pulled upward by the shaft 38, the frame 40 and the shaft 38 will move rapidly until the frame member 40 through the passage 71 and through the pipe engages the nut 81. At this point, the speed of advance of the frame 40 urged by the air pressure below the piston 33 will be retarded by the resistance of the piston 65 ex pelling oil from the cylinder 66 This resistance can be adjusted by means of the needle valve 70 which detefmines the rate of flow of oil and, therefore, the time taken for the piston 33 to move the shaft 38 upward the balance of its stroke after it has'engaged the nut 108. The nut 108 will be set so that it is engaged about the time that the article in the article receiving member 57 engages the cloth 26 and will, therefore, determine the time the article is in contact with the cloth 26.

The operation of the valve mechanism and the piston 33 in the cylinder 34 which moves the shaft 38 and the parts attached thereto upward and downward is as follows:

The valve piston 83 is attached to the solenoid 117 at 89 and when the solenoid 117 is actuated, the valve piston 83 is pulled down so that the point 89 moves to the dotted line position 90. The notch 91 is engaged by the trigger or release member 63 which is urged into engagement with the notch 91 by means of the spring 92. When the valve piston 83 is pulled down so that the point 89 is at the dotted line position, air will flow into the space 97 below the piston 33 and will flow through the air inlet 88 to the passage 94 past the reduced size portion 93 of the valve piston 83 through the passage 96 and into the space 97 below the piston 33, thereby applying a force to the piston 33 and allowing the air in the space above piston 33 in cylinder 34 to exhaust through the passage 84 past the reduced size portion 86 which will then align with the exhaust port 113. The pressure below the piston 33 in the space 97 will, therefore, urge the piston 33 with the frames 36 and 40 attached thereto upward rapidly until the frame 40 engages the nut 188 whereupon the speed of upward movement of the frame 40 will be retarded as explained above. Simultaneously, air from the space 97 will pass through the passage 98 through the pipe 99 to the two way pilot valve 100 and will actuate the piston 101 therein to move it downward against the force of the spring 102, opening the valve 104 through the shaft 103 and allowing air to fiow from the pipe 106 through the opening past the valve seat to the pipe 107 and through the air motor 54 actuating it through the pipe 114 and through the regulating valve 115 which is adjusted to control the speed of the motor 54. Air from valve 115 exhausts to the atmosphere through the mutfier 116.

It will be apparent that when the button 169 on the foot pedal 168 is actuated to allow air to flow from the supply pipe 163 through the pipe 167 and through the pipe 170 to the timer valve 168a, air will be admitted through the pipe 179 actuating the piston 181, moving the rod 182, and actuating the limit switch 183. The limit switch 183 will actuate the solenoid 117 which will pull the valve piston 83 downward to be locked down by the trigger 63. As the piston rod 35 advances upward carrying the frame 36 and the shaft 38 with it, the trigger shaft 59 being attached thereto will move upward until the cam 109 engages the follower 110 on the trigger mechanism 63. The trigger 63 will be pulled out away from the notch 91 and, thereby, allow the piston 83 to move upward. The solenoid 117 is mounted on the bracket 121 at 122 and the limit switch 118 is supported on the bracket a, bracket 121 is supported on the member 119, and member 119 is in turn attached to the frame 31 at 120.

The passage 84 communicates with the area above the piston 33 in the cylinder 34 and through the passage 85 past the reduced size portion 86 of the valve piston 83 and actuates air from pipe 88 through passage 81a.

It will be noted that when the trigger 63 is released to allow the spring 110a to move the piston 83 upward to close off the flow of air from the pasage 94 to the passage 96, the air pressure in the space 97 below the piston 83 will decrease and, therefore, decrease the air pressure in the pipe 99 which will cause the air motor 54 to stop, thereby stopping rotation of the shaft 38 during the downward movement of the shaft 38.

It will be noted that the electrical power to actuate the solenoid 117 is supplied through the limit switch 118 which is carried by the frame member 119. The limit switch 118 breaks the current to solenoid 117 as soon as the frame moves out of engagement with the limit switch 118 on the upward movement of the piston 33.

The wiping cloth 26 is supported on reels or spools 123 and 124. The spool 123 is rotatably supported on the axle 125a and the spool 124 is supported on the frame 2 and has the ratchet member 127 fixed to the spool 124. The ratchet 127 is engaged by the pawl 128 which is pivoted to the sliding member 129 at 130. The sliding member 129 is in turn attached to the piston 131 through the piston rod 132, the movement of the piston 131 being limited by the poppet valve 133 which hasthe outwardly extending member 134 which is engaged by the slide member 129 when the slide member 129 is in its extreme left position and the mandrel is in its extreme top position. The position of poppet valve 133 can be adjusted to control the length of cloth moved on each stroke of slide 129. The poppet valve 134a has the actuating member 125 which engages the member 126 which is carried by the movable frame 31. As the piston 33 moves upward carrying the shaft 38 and movable frame 31 with it and reaches the top of its stroke, the member 126 engages the actuating member 125, allowing air to exhaust from the space 141 at one side of the piston valve 131 and reducing the pressure therein. Thus, air pressure in space 141 is reduced and air from supply pipe 137 which has flowed through reduced size opening 138 to the space 139 at one side of the valve piston 140 to build up a pressure therein forces the piston 140 toward the pipe 136. The pressures on opposite ends of piston 140 will be unbalanced; the air in the space 139 will expand and force the valve piston 140 to the dotted position 147. Air will then be allowed to flow around the reduced size portion 142 through opening 148 into the space 143 at one side of the piston 140. The force exerted on piston 131 by air in space 143 will drive the piston rod 132 to the left, moving the ratchet pawl 128 around to engage another notch 14-4 of the ratchet wheel 127. When the slide member 129 reaches the end of its stroke, it will engage the member 134 of the poppet valve 133 and open the poppet valve 1133, allowing air to flow from the pipe 145, reducing the pressure in the space 139. By this time, the mandrel 55 has moved downward to move member 126 away from poppet valve 134a and poppet valve 134a has closed and air has flowed through the small opening 146 to build up pressure in the space 141. When the pressure in the space 139 is, therefore, released by member 126 opening poppet valve 134a at the top of the mandrel stroke, the pressure in the space 141 will cause the valve piston 14-0 to move to the dotted line position 147 and close the flow through the opening 143 into the space 1143, thereby allowing main line air to flow around the reduced size portion 142 of the piston 141) through the opening 149 through the pipe 158 to the opening 151 into the space 152 at the other side of the piston 131, thereby applying a force to the side of the piston 131 in space 152 and driving it to the right, causing the pawl 128 to pull the ratchet 127 along with it and, thereby, rotate the spool 124, winding the cloth 26 thereon and pulling it between the pins 153. The pins 153 are provided to hold the cloth 26 in one plane regardless of the amount of cloth on each spool. Theair from the space 143 can exhaust through the space 148 and to the ambient atmosphere through opening 143a.

Air is supplied to the various elements of the machine as follows: Air is admitted from the main line supply 161) through the filter 161 through the lubricator 162 through the pipe 163 through the four way connection 164 through the pipes 165,166; and 167. In the pipe 166,, the air flows to the air timer valve 168a, Sirnj .1ltarie ousfl y, air flows through the pipe 167 through the foot valve which is actuated by the button 169 which controls a valve therein to allow air to flow from the pipe: 167 t0. the pipe 170 when the button 16 9 isdepr essed. The air from pipe 170 forces the check valve 176 to an open position, allowing the air to flow through the passage 172 into the space 173ahead of the piston 174, driving the piston 174 in the cylinder 175 and the piston rod '176"at'- tached thereto to move the valve 177 out of engagement with the seat 178, thereby allowing air to flow" from the passage 168 to the pipe 179. Air from the pipe 179, enters thevalve 180 and forces the piston 181' therein downward, driving the piston rod 182 against the'limit switch or microswitch controllever 183 to close the'micioswitch 184. When the microswitch 184 is closed and the piston 33 is in its 1o wer position so that the frame merriber 40 engages the limit switch 118 to hold it closed, it will be notedthat an electrical circuit is established through the solenoid 117 and to the actuating mechanism on the paint gun 185 which is connected in an electrical circuit in parallel with solenoid 117 to the spray gun solenoid 185a which actuates the paint gun 185 to spray a small quantity of solvent on the cloth 26 to moisten the cloth 26 and cause itto have a better wiping effect on the part to be wiped. The paint solvent sprayed on the cloth 26' will facilitate in wiping off the paint. As soon as the connection is established through the microswitch 184, the solenoid 117 will pull the valve piston 83 downward in the manner aforedescribed to lock it in its downward position and trigger 63 will engage notch 91 to hold it in that position. Valve piston 83 will then move down to cause reduced. size portion 93 to register with openings 94 and96 to admit air into spa ce'97 below piston 33 and piston 33 will then move upward lifting frame 40 off of limit switch 118, thereby opening the electrical circuit to the solenoid 117 and; allowing trigger 63 to hold the piston 83 down against the force of spiringl lflqz. The operator then may remove his foot from the push button 169. When the operator removes the force-from button 169 and allows valve 16% to close, the flow of air will be stopped in pipe 170 and air will begin to exhaust through the orifice 187. The rate of exhaust of this air can be controlled by setting the valve handle 188 in the desired position. It will benoted that as the air exhausts from the space 172, the spring 189 will force piston 174 to the position shown in Fig. 4 forcing the valve 177 to closed position, thereby stopping the flow of air from the pipe 166 to the pipe 179 and thereby allowing piston 181 of the valve 180 to move to a colsed position. If it is desired for the mandrel 55 to move up two or more cycles for each time that the foot pedal 168b is depressed in order to cause two or more wiping cycles to be exerted on the part to be wiped, the handle 188 will be set to cause the air to exhaust slowly through the orifice 187 so that the mandrel 55 will have time to moveupward twice while the piston 174 is moving to a elosed position and, therefore, the solenoid 117 will be actuated to open the valve piston 83 to the downward position to start the shaft 38 upward a second time after the operator has removed his foot from the button 163. L

Duringthe time the article is in contact with the cloth 26, constant pressure is applied on the part being wiped by the spring 112 which is supported in a U-shaped member 1933. It will be noted that the movable upper mandrel 194 is telescopically received at 195 in the upper support. As the shaft 38 moves upward and the part is moved into engagement with the-cloth 26, the cloth 26 is forced lnto engagement with the upper wiping member 196 and as the shaft 38 continues to move upward, the spring 192 is compressed, the spring 192 being of such design that ,it maintains a. substantially constant force on the top gr the cloth 26,,as theshatt 38 moves upward. When the shaft 38 is moved to the uppermost part of its stroke and the cam '9 has released the sliding trigger member 63,- the piston 33 will retract and pull the part out of en gagement with the cloth 26. r I r Quring operation, the painted part to be wipec'lis' placed iri the depression 58 of the part holder 55 of the fdtary power unit 25. Nut 108 is adjusted to a position on the rod 77 where frame member 40 will engageat substantially the same time that the piece siipported in holder 57 engages the cloth 26. The knob 188 is set to control the time required for the air in space 172 to exhaust to allow the pistoii 174to return to the position shown in Fig. 4, closing the valve 177. During thetime the valve 177 is held open, the niieroswitch 184 will be closed and the piston 33 will continue to move up and down during this time interval. The circuit through switch 184 remains closed, the circuit through limit switch 118 being intermittently broken to release solenoid pull on piston 83'. Knob 32 is set to give the desired radial speed during the portion of the stroke of the mandrel 55 that the part in holder 57 is in contact with the cloth 26. With the part to be wiped in place, the button 169 is depressed which sends main line air from line 160 to the timer end of timer operated three way valve 168a which is opened thereby and sends main line air to small spring return air cylinder 1 81 which in turn, through its piston rod 182,

presses the microswitch 184, thus closing the circuit through the limit switch 118 and limit switch 118 is held in closed position by the frame member 40. The circuit is, thereby, closed through the solenoid 117 and the sole hold on the spray gun 185. The power through the electric circuit actuates the spray gun 185 to spray a small amount of solvent on the cloth 26. The power also actuates the solenoid 117 in the rotary power unit which in turn opens the valve 83 in the rotary power unit 25, allowing the unit mandrel 55 which is attached to the holder 57 to advance upward driven by main line air pressure by the piston 33 of the rotary power unit 25. At the same time, air is allowed to build up a pressure hehind the piston 33 to flow through the tubing 99 to actuate the piston 101 of the two way pilot valve 100, causing it to open and send main line air pressure to rotate the air motor 54 which is belted by a V-belt to the pulley mounted on the motor 54 of the rotary power unit 25. The air motor 54 is caused to rotate at the speed determined by the adjustable valve 115.

As the mandrel and holder holding the article to be wiped advance upward while rotating, they are hydraulically checked by engagement with nut 108 and the speed of upward movement is controlled by the knob 82 on top of the rotary power unit 25. The rate of movement is controlled by the adjustment of the knob 82 on top of the checking device 64 which controls the movement of piston 65 and, therefore, the upward movement of the piston 33 which is then moved slowly upward after the article contacts the cloth 26 and the frame member 40 contacts not 108. This brings the cloth 26 into engagement with the backing member 196 supported on the top wiping mandrel 27. The U-shaped sleeve 193 contains the spring 192 and, due to the pressure of the upper spring loaded wiping mandrel 27, the part is wiped clean of excess paint. The pressure on the part being wiped could be changed by varying the strength of the spring 192.

As the piston 33 moves upward to carry an article into contact with the cloth 26, the piston 131 of the four way valve is automatically actuated by main line air pressure and the piston 33 of the rotary power unit 25 is forced upward by the main line air pressure as explained above and, at the same time, exhausts the air below the piston 33 and also exhausts air from the pilot end of the pilot con trol two way valve 100, thus causing the valve 100 to close and shut off the main line air to the rotary motor 54. This will cause the motor 54 to stop and the mandrel 55 and frame 49 to return to their original positions and again close the circuit from main switch 118. When the rotary power .unit 25, mandrel 55, and holder 57 reach the upper end of the stroke, the bar 126 engages the poppet valve 134a which bleeds the four way valve attached to the rotary indexing unit which winds up the cloth 26, thus reversing the four way valve and causing main line air to force piston 131 to actuate slide member 129 to operate ratchet 127, thereby indexing the cloth 26, This causes the ratchet 127 to rotate the spool 124 a part of a revolution, pulling a new cloth tape in position for the next stroke of the mandrel 55.

The purpose of the guiding pins 153 is to glide the cloth tape 26 through the machine at the same level at all times, regardless of the amount of cloth tape which is contained in either spool 123 or 124. This gives an even contact of the cloth tape against the article to be wiped at all times. The spool 123 is an idler spool fully filled with cloth tape at the start of the operation and the cloth is gradually unwound by the indexing action of the right hand spool 124 by means of the ratchet 127 as described. The spool 123 is retarded from overrunning by a spring loaded brake disk of conventional design which is at the rear of the spool 123 (not shown).

The above description completes one cycle of the machine and if one cycle is not sufficient to clean the article, it is not necessary for the operator to press the button 16 for a second stroke. The air index knob 188 can be closed slightly to keep the piston 174 in actuated position, thereby keeping the microswitch 184 closed during the time required for the rotary power unit 25 to go through two cycles for one depression of the button 169.

Because of the speed at which the rotary power unit mandrel 55 and holder 57 return to normal position and the natural lag of the piston 174 and also the lag of the index unit which drives spool 124, the cloth tape does not start to move until the holder with the wiped part has moved away from the cloth tape and has finished moving the cloth before the next cycle reaches the tape height.

In the foregoing specification, we have set forth the invention in its preferred practical forms but we are aware that the structure shown is capable of modification within a range of equivalents Without departing from the invention which is to be understood is broadly novel as is commensurate with the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

l. A wiping machine for wiping and polishing articles of manufacture comprising a frame, a cloth supported on said frame, an article carrying means on said frame below said cloth having an article receiving member on the upper portion thereof, a motor rotatably connected to said article carrying means and adapted to rotate an article about its axis, said article carrying means having means connected thereto moving an article supported in said carrying means upward into engagement with said cloth, the portion of said cloth adjacent said article carrying means being supported in generally flat relation and in a plane generally perpendicular to said axis, and means to index said cloth to bring a different section thereof into engagement with the article supported in said carrying means each time said article is brought into engagement with said cloth.

2. The wiping machine recited in claim 1 wherein a backing member having resilient means urging it toward said cloth is provided in alignment with said axis of rotation of said article and on the opposite side of said cloth and adapted to hold said cloth in engagement with said article being wiped during the wiping operation.

3. The wiping machine recited in claim 1 wherein said means to move said article has means to actuate said rotating means and said article support, said article cariying means comprises a mandrel, said actuating means comprising an electrical circuit operatively connected to said mandrel, and a foot operated valve admittingair intermittently to a timer valve, said timer valve being operatively connected to said electrical circuit operating said mandrel moving means during the time said timer valve is held open by said air, said timer valve adapted to be adjusted to remain open a predetermined time after said foot valve has operated whereby said electrical circuit is actuated repeatedly to cause said article support means to move an article supported in said support means into engagement with and away from said cloth a plurality of times.

4. The machine recited in claim 1 wherein means is provided to intermittently deposit a liquid paint solvent on said cloth adjacent the cloth thereof to be engaged by said article supported in said article support.

5. The wiping machine recited in claim 1 wherein said cloth is supported on a spool at either end thereof with said portions thereof engaged by said article disposed therebetween, said indexing means to move said cloth rotating said spools to index said cloth after each wiping operation, said indexing means being synchronized with the movement of said article support whereby said cloth is held against movement when said article is in engagement therewith.

6. The wiping machine recited in claim 1 wherein said article carrying means comprises a mandrel, means to move said mandrel comprising an air actuated cylinder having a piston movable therein, said piston having a rod operatively attached to said mandrel, said cloth being supported by backing means on said frame adapted to engage said cloth on the opposite side thereof from the side engaged by said article, means on said backing means to cause it to apply a constant force to said cloth when said article engages said cloth, an air supply connected to said cylinder, valve means to supply air to a first side of said piston to move said mandrel upward, and valve means to stop the flow of air to said first side and direct the flow of air to a second side of said piston to force said mandrel away from said cloth.

7. The wiping machine recited in claim 6 wherein the air from said first side of said piston acuates a pilot valve to admit air to an air actuated motor, said motor constituting said means to rotate said mandrel.

8. The wiping machine recited in claim 6 wherein means is provided to move said mandrel rapidly a predetermined distance toward said cloth and move said mandrel at a slower rate as it engages said cloth and the article supported on said mandrel is rotated in engagement with said cloth whereby said article is polished.

9. The wiping machine recited in claim 1 wherein a backing member engages the cloth to hold it in engagement with said article while said article is being wiped, said backing member applying a substantially constant force on said cloth.

10. The wiping machine recited in claim 9 wherein said backing member comprises a hollow member attached to said frame, a member telescopically engaging said hol low member .and having its distal end engaging said cloth, and a spring in said hollow member holding said backing member in engagement with said cloth at substantially constant pressure as said article carrying member moves axially and rotates said article in engagement with said cloth.

11. The wiping machine recited in claim 10 wherein a means is provided to spray liquid on said cloth as said cloth moves through said machine.

12. A wiping machine comprising a frame, two spaced spools rotatably supported on said frame, an elongated cloth having one end rolled on over one said spool and the other end rolled on the other said spool wtih a bight portion therebetween, a mandrel on said machine, an upwardly facing article support on the upper distal end of said mandrel, means to rotate said mandrel about an axis, means to move said mandrel axially to bring an article supported in said article support into engagement with said bight portion of said cloth, means to guide said cloth to hold said bight portion generally perpendicular to said axis, means to rotate one said spool a predetermined amount to roll more cloth on said rotated spool and unroll cloth from the other said spool, said rotating means, axial moving means, and spool moving means comprising air actuated means, and a dashpot operatively attached to said mandrel, said dashpot having means to allow said mandrel to move rapidly away from said cloth and slowly toward said cloth.

13. The machine recited in claim 12 wherein said means to move said mandrel axially comprises a piston which moves said article support rapidly until said article in said support means engages said cloth whereupon said means to move said mandrel axially moves said article support slowly and means is provided to adjustably control the time during which said piston moves upward after said article in said support engages said cloth.

14. The wiping machine recited in claim 12 wherein a means for moving the cloth is synchronized with said mandrel to provide a fresh area thereof to engage the article .each time the mandrel moves toward said cloth.

15. The wiping machine recited in claim 14 wherein means is provided to control the length of time said article in said holder is in engagement with said cloth.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,053,468 Beadle Feb. 18, 1913 2,230,952 Indge Feb, 4, 1941 2,703,470 Porter Mar. 8, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 549,423 Great Britain Nov. 20, 1942 

